While most British Columbians have to wait for the 2010 Winter Olympics to see the athletes at work, one Coquitlam businessman is already seeing them in action and the sight ain't pretty.

James Wendland owns Whistler Creek Athletic Club where dozens of athletes are in training to be in peak condition for the Feb. 12 to 28 games. This week they're in the Olympic host town to test the track and while there are working out at Wendland's gym.

Bobsled, luge and skeleton teams from Russia, Germany, Britain, France and Czechoslovakia have booked times at the 4,000-square foot facility with its cardio theatre, strength training and free-weights rooms, pool and hot tub and let's just say it's no United Nations.

"These guys are amazing athletes," said Wendland, who commutes to Whistler about once a week while also teaching kinesiology at Capilano University and managing another gym in Kitsilano he also owns. But they are also very competitive, and, in the case of Russia and Germany, both medal contenders, refuse to train at the same time.

"I got an earful," Wendland said of the call he got to request time slot changes at the gym. But for the most part, everyone is getting along even though it's not unusual for up to 20 bobsled, luge and skeleton athletes to be working out at the same time.

Because track sport athletes have to be so quick out of the starting gate, they have to train hard to develop muscles that can explode with power on demand. The heavier they are the quicker they are down the track, too, where every millisecond counts.

"They are absolutely massive," said Wendland, describing the hefty athletes who are almost as wide as they are tall and capable of lifting extremely heavy waits while still holding a conversation.

This is not the first time his gym has been overrun by Olympic athletes, many of them were in town last February for the World Cups at the Whistler Sliding Centre. They also trained at Wendland's gym and he's glad to have them back.

"It's the joy of having supported the Olympics in some capacity and more over you sort of get one shot to enjoy an experience like this."

When it comes to setting goals, Wendland is a bit of an Olympian himself.

He's only 32 years old but but through planning and a bit of good fortune has already achieved much of his heart's desire.

After finishing his degree in kinesiology at UBC, (he also has his Masters of Science) Wendland started kinesologists.ca, a mobile business where he booked space at community centres where he showed people how to exercise to heal injuries or to build strength and fitness. He wanted to own his own gym and in 2005, he opened his first studio in Kitsilano where he and 14 other kinesiologists work with ICBC clients helping them with their rehabilitation, as well as athletes for strength and conditioning and individuals seeking personal training.

"When people come to us we're teaching them how to build a house with rebar and concrete instead of on sand and pebbles, eventually it will wear away. It's teaching you to do it properly so you can do it on your own."

He had always set his sights on working in Whistler and was amazed when an opportunity presented itself. An old school friend saw him by chance at a coffee shop and said he had a Whistler gym for sale. Wendland bought it 2008, and now commutes there regularly from Coquitlam where he lives with his wife.

A teaching job at Capilano University keeps him extremely busy and Wendland is never far from his phone.

But he's happy.

"My passion is for the human body and the adaptation that it can do whether rehabilitating the body or improving for physical fitness."

And watching the Olympians in training in Whistler, he's seen just how strong and fast the human body can become.

dstrandberg@tricitynews.com